Book-rest



(No Model.) 5

I. F. BROWN;

BOOK REST.

lhviTED STATES PATENT UEEiQE,

ISRAEL F. BROVN, OF NEXV LONDON, CONNEOTIOUJ.

BOOK- REST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551 ,256, dated December 10, 1895.

Application filed September 26, 1898 T0 61/ whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISRAEL F. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New London, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Book-Rest, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in book-rests which are adapted in use to rest upon the knee or lap of the reader or be placed upon a chair, table, or other support, and aims to provide a book-rest with especial reference to being supported upon the lap of a person and which will be so constructed, proportioned, and arranged relative to its parts as to prevent overbalancing and a toppling of the book and rest onto the floor even should the device he slanted by a change of the lap from a. horizontal to an outwardly-inclined position, and which will admit of the rest being readily moved to any required angle to suit the ease and comfort of the reader and which will be sufficiently stable to maintain a proper position during the various movements incident to the user or reader shifting so as to secure a more comfortable position, thereby enabling the reader to acquire an easy and relaxed position.

The invention consists, essentially, of an oblong base of sufficient mass to give stability to the device and faced upon its nether side with a fabric or like material to provide a sufficiently-roughened surface to adhere to the clothing of the reader and prevent the device from sliding oif the lap, standards rising from the base and located near the ends thereof and to one side of its longitudinal center and having cleft ends, between which are formed bearings and which have means for contracting the said bearings, a book-rest having bracket-s located to one side of its longitudinal center and constructed to extend along corresponding sides of the said standards and having lateral journals to enter the aforementioned bearings, the shorter side of the rest occurring opposite the shorter side of the base, and means for securing the book to the rest.

The invention further consists of certain novel features and combination of the parts, which hereinafter will be more fully de- Serial No. 486,538- (No model) scribed and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bootrest constructed in accordance with and embodying the essence of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view thereof. Fig. 4: is a rear perspective view of the device. Fig. 5 is a detail view in longitudinal section of one of the elastic supporting-studs.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The foundation or support of the device is an oblong base 1, which is of sufficient thickness and size to have substantial weight, so that when placed on the lap of the user it will not easily topple off. It may be formed of wood, and preferably is made in that way. The base is provided upon its nether side with a fabric covering or facing 2, whereby it is prevented from sliding off the lap when in use and also when not in use, The fabric covering or facing also prevents the base from scratching tables or desks upon which it may be temporarily placed, and it will be observed that this fabric covering or facing, which is preferably made of felt, is absolutely necessary to the efficiency of the device, because if it were dispensed with the book-rest would be incapable of retention upon the lap without sliding off when the person shifts position to seek ease and comfort. With the fabric covering or facing the base retains its place on the lap of the user against all sliding under normal conditions, as will be readily appreciated.

There rise from the base 1, near the opposite ends thereof, posts or standards 3 that may be given any external configuration or design, the same terminating at their upper ends in rectangular heads 4, which are cleft or split vertically in a longitudinal manner, as indicated at 5. These cleft portions or bifurcations are provided with half-bearings 6, and below the same with transverse perforations 7. Clamping-bolts S are arranged in the perforations and are provided with milled thumb or binding nuts 9, which by being turned upon the bolts serve to contract the bifurcations of the heads, as will be readily understood.

is especially advantageous in view of the fact.

that the book-rest proper is pivoted so as to throw the weight of the book on that side of the longitudinal center of the base from which the standards extend.

The book-rest 10 is of suitable size and is provided at its lower edge with the ordinary shelf 11 to support the book. To the under side of this rest and near its ends are bolted brackets 13 which extend along corresponding sides of the standards, and from whose inner sides project journals 14:, which are mounted in the bearings 6 formed in the bifurcated or cleft heads 4: and are clamped in the required position by means of the aforesaid bolts 8 and binding-nuts 9.

It will be seen that the book-rest is journaled to the upper ends of the posts or standards so as to throw the shelf 11 on the same side of the longitudinal center of the base as that from which the posts or standards project, and by this arrangement the weight of the book, when placed on the shelf, does not overbalance the base. If the standards or posts were placed in the center of the base, or if there was only one post or standard, or if the book-rest was journaled so as to throw the shelf on the opposite side of the post or standard, the weight of the book when placed on the book-rest would ovcrbalance the weight of the base and the book-support would be unstable and would not remain on the lap of the user without manual. assistance.

It will be obvious that the rest may be tilted to any inclination desired and securely clamped by the aforesaid nuts and bolts in its adjusted position.

Various means may be provided for retain ing the book open upon the support. In the present instance, however, plugs or studs 15 and 16 are inserted in openings provided in the opposite ends of the support, the former having a V-shaped slot or opening 17 therein, and the latter being transversely and longitudinally bored, as at 18 and 19, respectively, the two bores communicating. An elastic cord 20 is knotted at one end, at 21, and has its opposite end passed through the trans verse and longitudinal bores mentioned as being formed in the stud 1G, and emerges from. the latter, extends across the support, and has secured adjacent to its opposite end a button 22. By arranging the book open upon the support and the elastic cord upon the book and slightly stretching the same, the button and the cord may be carried into the V-shaped recess of the stud 15 and the button engaged by said stud, whereby the elastic cord is maintained in position in a removable manner. By regrasping the button the cord may be stretched and removed from the V-shaped slot, the leaves turned, and the cord replaced. The cord is preferably round and of such size as not to interfere wit-h the printing of the book, and yet at the same time it forms an effective holding device for the leaves.

It will be observed that in order to provide a book-rest especially adapted to be placed upon the lap of the user and supported in that position the base has been so constructed and made of oblong form and of substantial weight and provided on the under side with a covering so that it will have proper frictional engagement with the clothes of the user, and to overcome any tendency to topple off or have any instability the standards have been so disposed on the base and the rest has been pivoted in such relation to the latter as to afford an equal balance to the parts and avoid any tendency in the way of the book causing the bookrest to be top-heavy.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A book support especially designed to be placed upon the lap of the user, and consisting essentially of an oblong base having material weight and provided upon its nether side with a covering or facing of felt or like material, whereby it is prevented from sliding off the lap, posts or standards rising vertically from the base near its opposite ends and to one side of the longitudinal center thereof, the upper ends of the posts being cleft and formed with bearings, means for contracting the bearings, a book rest, brackets pendent from the book rest and extending along corresponding sides of the standards and having laterally projecting journals which are mounted in the said bearings, a shelf at that edge of the book rest above the shorter side of the base, whereby when the book is in position the weight thereof will not tend to overbalance the mass of the base and render the latter unstable, and a holder for securing the book upon the rest, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a book support having openings at its opposite edges, of studs 15 and 16 inserted in the respective openings, one of the said studs being bifurcated and the other having intersecting transverse and longitudinal bores 18 and 19, and an elastic cord knotted and passed through the transverse bore and outwardly through the longi tudinal bore and secured thereby at one end to one stud, and provided at its opposite end with a button for en gaging the bifurcation of the opposite stud, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ISRAEL I BROWN. lVitnesses G. T. BROWN, GEORGE COLFAX. 

